The Penguins retained four of five players placed on waivers yesterday, but lost left wing Paul Bissonnette, who was claimed today by Phoenix. The Penguins claimed left wing Chris Bourque from Washington.

Staying with the Penguins and assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League are wingers Ryan Bayda and Chris Conner and defensemen Nate Guenin and Deryk Engelland.

I thought Washington was pretty high on Bourque? Kind of surprised they gave up on him already, he's only 23 and was a former 2nd round draft pick. Of course, that's what the team that claims Limus Sweed off waivers will be saying next year.

Regardless, seems like a good move. He has higher upside than Bissonnette, no?

Regardless, seems like a good move. He has higher upside than Bissonnette, no?

I think he is a definate upgrade over Bissonnette. IMO, while I do not see him lighting up the lamp and playing on a first or second line on the Penguins roster anytime in the near future, he has more offensive upside than Bissonnette and could possibly push for third line duties. Bourque has proven that he is capable of putting up numbers in the AHL, but he has to prove to the FO that he can do it at the NHL level. That remains to be seen. Hopefully starting over with a new organization will help him along, but it's up to him to take advantage of opportunities given to him. He has the speed, work ethic and grit.

I thought Washington was pretty high on Bourque? Kind of surprised they gave up on him already, he's only 23 and was a former 2nd round draft pick.

They really didn't give up on him per say. He was a cap casualty. McPhee said the reason is the Caps needed a roster spot/salary cap space in case any player who was put on waivers from another team was someone they wanted to claim. If he cleared, they would have been more than happy to have him back.

Pascal Dupuis has been shifted to the right side with Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko while Tyler Kennedy, who worked there most of the preseason, is returning to his old spot with Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke.

Coach Dan Bylsma said he expects to use those combinations when the Penguins face the New York Rangers in the season-opener tomorrow at Mellon Arena.

"That Jordan Staal line will benefit greatly from having [Kennedy] on it at the start of the season," Bylsma said.

(Not many are doubting that, but what's going to happen to that second line? I'm sure Malkin is thrilled.)

"What [Kennedy] adds to the Jordan-Cooke line was a tough thing to turn away from."

(When you see what that second line looks like with Dupuis on it, it's won't be so "tough". Watching Dupuis over the past two seasons, Kennedy will be up there in no time.)

He added that, "I don't think [Dupuis with Malkin and Fedotenko] is a fit that's going to stay the whole year."

(Well I guess that's reassuring even though I'm still trying to figure out why Dupuis is on that line to begin with.)

The void on Malkin's line was created when Max Talbot, who played there during the Penguins' Stanley Cup run, underwent shoulder surgery that will prevent him from playing until at least late November.

This is not Dupuis' first top-six assignment; he logged considerable time on Sidney Crosby's line last season.

I thought Washington was pretty high on Bourque? Kind of surprised they gave up on him already, he's only 23 and was a former 2nd round draft pick.

They really didn't give up on him per say. He was a cap casualty. McPhee said the reason is the Caps needed a roster spot/salary cap space in case any player who was put on waivers from another team was someone they wanted to claim. If he cleared, they would have been more than happy to have him back.

Yeah, I did some research on this and it's basically a result of not being able to trade Nylander and his ridiculous salary. They definitely wanted him back, and the people on the Cap's boards are pissed off, especially because the "arch-rival" Pens picked him up. I thought you had to win a series once in a while to be considered an arch-rival, but that's neither here nor there.

Big fan of the signing, seems like a gritty guy (albeit small) with some offensive skills. Wouldn't be surprised to see him tried on the Malkin line once the Dupuis experiment fails and before Talbot gets back.

Wouldn't be surprised to see him tried on the Malkin line once the Dupuis experiment fails and before Talbot gets back.

Since he has not practiced much with the team, I wouldn't mind seeing Bourque start off on the third line and move Kennedy to the second line. If Bourque can prove to the organization that he is capable of handling third line duties, bump him up to the second line and move Kennedy back down to the third.

Of course we are going to have to sit back and watch that second line suffer until a move such as that is made, but I have a feeling we will not have to wait very long. At least that's what I'm hoping for. Maybe I'm being too hard on Dupuis, but I have watched the guy in person for the last two seasons and he brings absolutely nothing to the table when it comes to putting up points. Twelve goals and sixteen assists while logging "considerable time on Sidney Crosby's line last season". Enough said in my book.

Wouldn't be surprised to see him tried on the Malkin line once the Dupuis experiment fails and before Talbot gets back.

Since he has not practiced much with the team, I wouldn't mind seeing Bourque start off on the third line and move Kennedy to the second line. If Bourque can prove to the organization that he is capable of handling third line duties, bump him up to the second line and move Kennedy back down to the third.

Of course we are going to have to sit back and watch that second line suffer until a move such as that is made, but I have a feeling we will not have to wait very long. At least that's what I'm hoping for. Maybe I'm being too hard on Dupuis, but I have watched the guy in person for the last two seasons and he brings absolutely nothing to the table when it comes to putting up points. Twelve goals and sixteen assists while logging "considerable time on Sidney Crosby's line last season". Enough said in my book.

Besides the speed to keep up with Sid and Geno, Dupuis offers absolutely nothing to a scoring line. I'm not even sure how important speed is with a guy like Sid as compared to the ability to find a soft spot in a defense and having the hands to finish (see Guerin, Bill).

Dupuis is a good penalty killer, and a good 3rd line guy because he is tough and plays hard, but his terrible hands handicap any scoring line he is on. In fact, I bet 9 of those 12 goals came on a slapshot on an odd man rush where he was not receiving a pass but was instead carrying the puck. Only way I ever saw him score last year.

Also, I wasn't suggesting playing Bourque over Kennedey on the 2nd line as I'd prefer Kennedy. But they seem to really want to keep that 3rd line together based on their playoff peformance, so I'm not considering Kennedey a 2nd line option yet.

First off, absolutely awesome night at the arena tonight. The Penguins organization did one hell of a job with the pre-game celebration. Hats off. It was very enjoyable and something I will never forget as a Penguins fan and hockey fan in general.

As for the game, they looked good IMO. I've had one too many tonight to give a full breakdown, but Dupuis has absolutely no business being on that second line. Outside of Dupuis, Gogo had a very impressive night and the new guys played solid. It was fun watching Godard get the better of Brashear. Fleury's save was sick. Nice to see Kennedy, Malkin and Crosby net the goals.

I called it an early night, but it was a fun one to start off the season.

Dupuis is a good penalty killer, and a good 3rd line guy because he is tough and plays hard, but his terrible hands handicap any scoring line he is on. In fact, I bet 9 of those 12 goals came on a slapshot on an odd man rush where he was not receiving a pass but was instead carrying the puck. Only way I ever saw him score last year.

He whiffed on another opportunity in the first period of tonight's game. He was wide open, took the shot and it hit off the heel of his stick. It's unreal and frustrating to watch all at the same time. Hopefully Bylsma comes to his senses soon. It didn't work last season, so why would it work now? It's pretty much commonsense in my book. The only difference between Dupuis and Satan is that Dupuis has a work ethic and plays like he gives a damn. Outside of that, he can't score or contribute offensively in general. Once again, the man has no business being a top six forward. I'm not sure how many more opportunities he has to blow in order to prove it.

As for the game tonight, after one period of play we are looking tired and sloppy in my opinion. I think playing last night has something to do with that. That's no excuse though. It's not like we are two months into the season and playing back-to-back games. Crosby had no problem blowing by half the NYI roster and putting one through Rolo's five-hole. The passing in our own zone looks sloppy to beat hell, we are turning it over in the neutral zone and struggling to clear our zone in general. Overall it's a fun game to watch. Very physical after one period of play. McKee and Rupp already involved in two separate fights. Hopefully we wake up in the second and get something going here. Up to this point, Crosby and Fleury are the only two players who have shown up tonight.

Came away with the S.O. win. I didn't expect us to come away with any points after watching the first two periods. We came alive in the third and the Isles pretty much sat back in the third. It was definately not the prettiest two points ever gained in the history of the NHL, but I'll definately take it on the road.

As for the Islanders, they are definately a gritty team and have a very bright future if they can successfully build around Tavares and Okposo. Both are very exciting players to watch, but we made them look like the 82-83 Islanders in the first two periods. Like I said, outside of Crosby and Fleury, we really didn't show up to play this one. I'm sure we will put on a better showing against the Yotes on Wednesday night.